It is the transfer of knowledge to the private sector to improve the quality of life in the society. Existing knowledge has been transferred to students in the classroom and laboratory settings for centuries. Students upon graduation use this knowledge to create products and services while employed for businesses. Academic institutions also create new knowledge, the process to transfer this knowledge is different, and it is the transfer of this new knowledge to the private sector that is referred as technology transfer.

The intellectual property policy explains the ownership rights to various types of intellectual property. However, based on federal laws (Bayh-Dole act) all federal sponsors give the entitlement to the any new intellectual property that result from the project to the university. It is then the responsibility of the university to facilitate the legal protection and transfer to the private sector for the public good.

The university is required to declare any new inventions that may result from federally sponsored research to the sponsoring agency and the intent that the university plans to legally protect it or return the ownership to the federal government. Thus, according to the CPP intellectual property policy, all faculty members, staff, and students are obligated to disclose the intellectual property to the Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Development regardless of whether you think the invention is patentable or you consider the commercial value questionable.

It is a federal law co-authored by two senators, hence “Bayh-Dole” act. It entitles universities to the ownership rights to intellectual property supported by tax dollars, and the university is required to transfer it to the private sector for commercialization. However, the government retails a non-exclusive license to practice the patent.